Shuttle box for looms



Jan. W, 1950 F. J. SULLIVAN ET AL SHUTTLE BOX FOR LOOMS Filed April 10, 1948 &\ 12 2 13! I 14a 5 7 5 1 2 I T I N 1| F l k EH 32 25, 7i

Patented Jan. 17, 1950 SHUTTLE BOX FOR LOOMS Francis J. Sullivan, Ansonia, and Arthur R. Ahbott, Shelton, Conn., assignors to Sidney Blumenthal & (30., Inc., New York, N. Y. a corporation of New York Application April 10, 1948, Serial No. 20,306

'7 Claims.

This invention relates to looms and, more particularly, to shuttle boxes therefor, and is directed to improvements in the means for receiving, braking and arresting a shuttle at the end of its flight across the loom through the sheds and for directing its succeeding flight in the opposite direction.

An object of the invention is to provide the shuttle box with a divided front, part of which may be used for shuttle braking purposes while another part is used for shuttle aiming and guiding at the start of each flight.

Another object is to provide such a box in which the said parts of its front are adjustable to promote efiectiveness and accuracy in operation and to compensate for wear.

Another object is to provide such a box which is adaptable to looms of standard and approved types without the necessity of changes in construction or arrangement of elements.

Another object is to provide such a box in which the said operative parts are readily removable for replacement or repair.

A further object is to provide certain improvements in the form, construction and arrangement of the several parts whereby the above named and other objects inherent in the invention may be eflectively attained.

In loom manufacture the shuttle boxes are 'fitted with means for braking and stopping the night of the shuttle, and it has been common practice to arrange a leather faced element composed of metal or wood in an angular relationship to the rear of the box so as to form a tapered space therebetween into which the shuttle may be wedged and. arrested at the end of its flight. Among other disadvantages, this practice has the very appreciable drawback which arises from the fact that the positioning of the said element at an. angle adequate to insure its shuttle braking and arresting function causes it to tend to divert the shuttle from accurate flight on the next pick, while the decreasing of the said angularity reduces the said braking and arresting effect. The present invention eliminates this and other unsatisfactory features of previous practice and supplies additional factors calculated to improve loom operation.

A. practical embodiment of the invention is represented in the accompanying drawing, in which Fig. 1 represents a detail plan view of a shuttle box in association with a lay sword and picker stick, a shuttle being shown in two positions in full and broken lines;

Fig. 2 represents the same in front elevation;

Fig. 3 represents a section taken in the plane of the line III-III of Fig. 1, looking in the direction of the arrows;

Fig. 4 represents a section taken in the plane of the line IV-IV of Fig. 1, looking in the direction of the arrows; and

Fig. 5 represents a section taken in the plane of the line V-V of Fig. 1, looking in the direction of the arrows.

The shuttle box proper comprises a bottom denoted by l and a back 2, which are preferably integral and composed of suitable metal, such as steel. The box is adapted to be mounted on and carried by the loom lay, as is usual, and one sword of the lay marked 3, together with the lay actuating pitman rod 4, as well as a portion of the reed 5, are illustrated in the drawing to present the environment of the shuttle box. The bottom l of the box is provided with the customary slot 6 for receiving the picker stick i that drives the shuttle into its flight across the loom.

The characteristic features'of the present invention are found in the structure of the front of the shuttle box which consists of a plurality of parts, preferably two, one of which, indicated by 3, may be called a shuttle braking or arresting shoe; while the other, marked 9, may be denominated as a shuttle aiming and guiding piece.

The braking shoe 8 is preferably composed of appropriate metal, such as steel, and is L-shaped in cross section, as well shown in Fig. 5, where its horizontal portion is marked l0 and its vertical wall ii. The end of the said shoe which extends toward the loom is rounded or tapered to form a point, as illustrated at l2, so that its vertical wall ll will cooperate with the rounded or pointed end of the shuttle, which latter is shown in full lines at i3 as it is about to enter the box and in broken lines at it as it is contacting the shoe 8 to cause its flight to be arrested thereby. The face of the wall it of shoe 8 designed for contact with the shuttle may be covered with leather or its equivalent (not shown), if desired, secured thereto in any suitable manner as by riveting and/or cementing.

For the purpose of assembling the braking or arresting shoe with the other parts of the shuttle box the horizontal portion to of the former has a pair of slots l5, l5, fashioned therein to receive cap screws it, it, that are threaded into the bottom i of the box. It will be seen that this provision enables the shoe 8 to be firmly secured at the desired spacing from the back 2 of the box and at the desired angularity with respect theretoin order to insure an adequate braking function to arrest the flight of the shuttle; the ansu aflty being such as to position the end of the shoe that extends away from the loom slightlynearerthebackioftheboxsoasto establish a gradual restriction of the space into whichv the shuttle enters at the termination of its flisht. I

It will be observed that the shoe 8 is only about two thirds as long as the shuttle box, and the remainder of the front of the box is constituted by the shuttle aiming and guiding piece 9. This latter is preferably composed of steel and is, like the shoe 8, L-shaped in cross section. It is also provided with a pair of slots l1, l1, that mate with cap screws l8, I8, which are threaded into the bottom I of the shuttle box for adjustably fastening the piece 9 in place. The end of the piece 9 which extends toward the loom is rounded or tapered, as indicated at H, similarly to the end I! of the shoe 8; and the opposite end of the piece 8 is also slightly rounded, as indicated at 20, although it does not go to a point. The purpose of thus rounding the ends of the piece 9 is to facilitate and ease moving contact of the shuttle therewith.

Unlike the shoe 8, the intended adjustment of the piece 9 is such as to bring the straight side of its vertical wall intermediate its rounded ends i8, 20, into a position of parallelism with the back 2 of the shuttle box so that, when the picker'stick I strikes the shuttle for sending it on a return flight, the piece 9, in cooperation with the back of the box, will aim and initially guide the shuttle on a flight which is directly in line with the longitudinal axis of the box and hence also directly in line with the longitudinal axis of the box on the opposite side of the loom which is intended to receive the shuttle, thereby insuring accuracy in flight.

From the foregoing it will be clear that the braking or arresting shoe 8 may be adjusted into any desired angularity with respect to the straight inner surface of the back of the shuttle box in tion due to the presence of this invention. Furthermore, the constructional parts of the box front are simple and inexpensive to manufacture; are readily assembled with the adjacent parts; and are quickly and simply adjustable for wear or to suit varying conditions of shuttle size and speed of flight in order to insure and maintain efliciency and precision in operation.

It will be understood that various changes may be resorted to in the form, construction, material and arrangement of the several parts without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention; and hence we do not intend to be limited to details herein shown or described exorder to insure its eflective functioning, without 4 causing or tending to cause want of accuracy in the flight of the shuttle when the latter is ejected from the box by the stroke of the picker stick .because, as the shuttle leaves the shoe 8 on its return flight, it passes between the precisely parallel surfaces ofthe piece 9 and box back 2, which latter correct any deviation from a straight line projection of the shuttle, which might be caused by the angularity in adjustment of the shoe 8 were it not for the presence of the aiming and guiding piece 9. Thus this improved construction of the front :of the shuttle box retains fully the desired effectiveness of the parts in reeeiving and arresting the shuttle while avoiding any tendency to cause deviation in the return flight of the latter and, indeed, while providing positive aiming and initial guidance for the shuttle in its flight. In respects other than the characteristic features of this invention, the shuttle box is or may be of standard or approved form and it may be located with respect to the loom and operated in conjunction with the other parts without requiring any changes or modificacept as they may be included in the claims or be required by disclosures of the prior art.

What we claim is:

1. A shuttle box for looms comprising, a bottom and a back uprising therefrom, the back having a substantially straight inner surface, a shuttle arresting shoe and a shuttle aiming piece mounted in substantial alignment onsaid bottom and adjacent its edge that is distant from the back, said shoe and aiming piece having at least part of their inner surfaces substantially straight, said part of the inner surface of the shoe normally lying at an angle to the inner surface of the back and said part of the inner surface of the aiming piece normally lying in substantial parallelism with the inner surface of the back, and means for angularly adjusting said shoe and aiming piece with respect to the back.

2. A shuttle box according to claim 1 in which the adjusting means also provides for bodily adjustment of the shoe and aiming piece with respect to the back.

3. A shuttle box according to claim 2 in which the arresting shoe and aiming piece are separate from each other and independently adjustable.

4. A shuttle box according to claim 3 in which the aiming piece is located nearer the entrance to the shuttle box than is the arresting shoe.

5. A shuttle box according to claim 4 in which the arresting shoe is longer than the aiming piece.

6. A shuttle box according to claim 5 in which the ends of the shoe and aiming piece toward the entrance to the shuttle box are tapered.

7. A shuttle box according to claim 6 in which the shoe and aiming piece are substantially L- shaped in cross section with their vertical walls providing their substantially straight inner surface parts and their horizontal portions providing elements of the adjusting means.

FRANCIS J. SULLIVAN. ARTHUR R. ABBO'I'I.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS 

